


Second Chances

by blackflipcat



Series: Good Chances [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alpha Bucky Barnes, Alpha Elektra, Alpha James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Alpha Karen Page, Alpha Matt Murdock, Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha Sunset Bain, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Background Relationships, Baintronics, Corporate Espionage, Discussion of Abortion, Emotional Coercion, Feels, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Lawyers, Life Foundation (Marvel), M/M, Maria Stark's A+ Parenting, Mating Bites, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mostly Tony's tbh, Mpreg, Multi, Omega Foggy Nelson, Omega Pepper Potts, Omega Tony Stark, POV Alternating, Reference to past abusive relationship, Scenting, Sleepy Cuddles, Strangers to Lovers, Stuckony endgame, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Unplanned Pregnancy, referenced past adult/minor relationship (Sunset/Tony), triad mating
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2020-10-14 06:01:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20595884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackflipcat/pseuds/blackflipcat
Summary: Pregnant, unmated, Tony drops out of MIT and goes to New York to stay with his best friend, Rhodey. There he meets Steve and Bucky. Things are finally looking up for him, that is until the alpha parent comes back into the picture unexpectedly.





	1. Four Weeks

**Author's Note:**

  * For [birdcaged](https://archiveofourown.org/users/birdcaged/gifts).

> 1) I'm going to add more relevant tags/characters as I go on so please heed those as I update.   
2) Kudos/comments are always appreciated and loved :)  
3) Thanks to PinkGold for the quick beta'ing! <3

"Is this chair taken?" 

Steve looked up from his sketchbook. The voice belonged to a pretty brunet with warm brown eyes. Judging by the sweet cinnamon scent he could instantly tell the male was an omega. 

The question still hung in the air as the omega was now gripping the top of the vacant chair from the opposite end of the two person table Steve was currently seated at. The cafe shop belonged to a good friend of his, Natasha. Every morning he came in early to finish up his assignments before heading out to the university and over time recognized most of its patrons that came in and out during the morning flurry. But the omega was new. Steve definitely would've remembered those mesmerizing eyes and sweet smell. 

The omega evidently caught his stare had gravitated to his neckline and gave him a pointed look. Bare. No mark. Steve averted his gaze and muttered out a quick, "Uh, no. You can take it." 

"Thanks," the omega said with a small grin. He licked the top of his lip, a thoughtful look in his eye. "I was hoping you say that. I'm Tony Collins." 

"Steve Rogers," he responded politely. His brow furrowed in confusion when Tony pulled the chair out to sit down instead. 

"Couldn't help but notice your bag. You go to NYU?" Tony asked, head tilted towards the messenger bag sitting on the top of the table. "Because I sort of could use help getting to that side of town? If you don't mind. My phone is on its last leg and I'm awful at navigating public transit."

It was an unusual request. Especially from a stranger, and an omega at that. Steve immediately felt protective. It was hard not to. His track record for pretty brunet omegas was obviously a weakness of his. Tony in particular smelled very nice but there was an underlying scent to him that told Steve something was wrong. And that alone had him invested and made his alpha hindbrain whisper to him to protect. 

"I do, just started my junior year," he said, and tried hard not to seem too eager to help. "Do you have an address by chance?" 

"Greenwich Village," Tony answered, then pulled out his phone. It was newer than his, looked very expensive but Steve saw there was a crack right down the middle of the screen.

Tony held the screen up to show him the exact address and Steve made a mental note. Just based off the cursory glance, he discerned it wasn’t just a regular smartphone. It was a _Stark_ phone. Average sale price for one was easily two grand, maybe three dependent on the extra features. 

He also couldn't help but notice the dried cracked blood under Tony's fingernails. He glanced up and the question died in his throat when he saw Tony's eyes. The omega now looked scared. 

"Don't have any money on me for the fare," Tony admitted, and let out a small laugh. Nervous laugh, Steve's mind autocorrected. "But my friend, uh, he can pay you back when I get there. Promise. He's good for it. On holiday leave from his officer basic course and just got all that back pay from the government." 

"Hey, don't worry about it. Are you okay? Do you need to stop at a clinic first?"

At the word clinic Tony shook his head violently. "N-no. I'm fine." 

Steve didn't say anything, not trusting himself to call out the fact the omega very much wasn't if he smelled scared and had blood under his fingernails. But he also recognized Tony was no obligation to tell him anything if he didn't want to.

The walk to the nearby subway station wasn't too far away, less than a mile. After stopping by the kiosk to purchase a ticket for Tony, they made their way down the stairs to the boarding area. 

Closer in proximity and with less air flow in the underground station Steve realized there was more to that excessively all-encompassing cinnamon smell. Tony was secreting _pregnancy_ hormones - which had a tendency to make omegas smell sugary sweet. But the lack of a mate mark also reminded Steve of his own mother who had been an unmated omega and that medically speaking, unmated omegas had a harder time, and infant mortality was a higher risk. Omegas needed the mating bond to have a successful full-term pregnancy, or the risk to the omega parent and child were that much prominent.

On the train ride up north him and Tony fell into an easy conversation. Tony asked him what he was studying, and Steve told him digital art and design, which surprisingly Tony had a lot of knowledge on. Time seemed to go so swiftly and soon they were exiting the subway and heading in the direction of the address Steve had memorized.

By the time they arrived in front of the old apartment building, Tony seemed much more relaxed. His smile was brighter and his smell was less stressed.

"Thanks for not telling me I'm going to hell by the way when we met. But when I saw your pendant, I figured you might be less of a bigot than everyone else there." 

It took Steve a moment to realize Tony was referring to his St. Jude pendant he wore around his neck. It had been his mother's. And often associated with mate-less omegas and their children.

"I'm sorry people would say that to you," Steve said, jaw clenching. He wasn't surprised but it still bothered to hear the close minded audacity of people. "Especially since it's none of their business."

"Pregnant omegas tend to attract all sorts of attention I’ve come to realize. If I had a mate mark I'd be treated like a precious gift to society. Unmated I'm a social pariah," Tony commented, tone light despite his words. He shook his head, curly hair falling over his eyes. "It's fine though. I rather avoid the people who would condemn an absolute stranger anyway. Great way to quickly ascertain the assholes, you know?" 

Steve nodded. That was an insightful way to look at it.

"Like, just having you as a companion, I’ve gotten zero crass comments from bystanders and less stink eye." 

Steve's mouth gaped open and Tony snickered. 

"Relax," Tony smirked. "You're giving off those pheromones that tell me you're just being protective. It's cute. Most alphas think I'm disgusting. Being pregnant and unmated is like the modern-day scarlet letter lemme tell you. Not an attractive look."

He pointedly did not comment on that. Because inwardly he thought Tony was very good looking. Between the O's friendly warm brown eyes and curly brown hair and pleasant conversation on the way here, he was very much attracted. But he also was very much aware Tony probably was not looking for that sort of attention. 

He walked Tony to the entrance, watching the omega press the apartment number on the intercom console by the metal gate. Seconds later the speaker crackled to life.

"Hello?" The person on the other end sounded confused. Clearly Tony's arrival wasn't planned, Steve gathered. 

"Honey bear!" Tony gushed. Steve raised a brow at the nickname. "Surprise!" 

The man's voice stuttered. "T-Tony!? What the hell. Aren't you supposed to be in California for break?" 

"Eh," Tony said in nonchalant tone. "Bus fare to NYC was cheaper from Boston than there. Are you going to ask me 20 questions in the cold out here or let me in, pooh bear?" 

"Call me that again and I'll-"

The locked gate popped open with a loud buzz and Tony quickly grabbed the door handle before it closed.

Steve took that as his cue to leave and the moment he turned around; Tony called out his name.

"Thanks, Steve," Tony said. His smile was warm and sincere. "Really appreciate it." 


	2. Sixteen Weeks

It was nearly three months later before he saw Tony again. Bucky had teased him for days after he got the whole story out of him. By memory Steve had sketched a drawing of the omega and accidentally left it out on the dining table. Bucky had asked if the omega had a name. Reluctantly he told Bucky how he met the omega and the circumstances. Bucky let it go, understanding it was a sensitive subject for Steve. (“I’m sure he’s going to fine, Stevie. If he had a friend taking him in, that will help.”)

This time Bucky was with him as they were out grocery shopping. Two overgrown alphas arguing what kind of pasta to get in the middle of the aisle was probably a bizarre sight to walk in on. Between Bucky's hours being cut and Steve’s part time work, they needed to be more economical and went to the cheapest market on the other side of town. He wanted to buy the bulk because the unit price label depicted it was cheaper but Bucky insisted life was shitty as is and they at least deserved good pasta.

"Buck, it's _pasta_. It's all the same once it's cooked."

Then Tony appeared around the corner, red shopping basket in hand.

Steve froze. 

Tony's eyes widened.

"Well well this is a surprise," Tony said, a small smile on his lips. Steve instantly picked up on that saccharine aroma. It was heavier. Enough to his mouth water.

Bucky also picked up on it and looked between them both with a smirk. 

"Hello, excuse my friend and his awful manners," Bucky said dryly, and his eyes clearly were checking out the omega. The roundness around Tony's midriff was more pronounced. "I'm assuming you're the Tony Steve helped get to the village the other day." 

Tony made a surprise noise, brown eyes assessing the other alpha. "Made that much of an impression mm? And yes." 

Bucky shot him his trademark flirtatious grin. It was unmistakable Tony was not immune to it. His cheeks and the tips of his ears turned red. 

Steve cleared his throat. "Good to see you again, Tony. This is Bucky Barnes, my best friend and royal pain in the ass." 

Tony and Bucky shook hands. The too-big sweatshirt Tony was wearing stretched out around his protruding belly and Steve could make out it read MIT. 

Bucky whistled. "Impressive. Your alma mater?" 

"Not the usual reaction I get," Tony muttered, teeth flashing with all how wide his grin was now. "Technically attended but didn’t graduate. Had to drop out on the count of..." He made a feeble downward glance. "You know Steve is right. More cost effective to go in bulk. Learned that pretty quickly living on a budget myself." 

"Well, you two clearly outnumber me in this argument," Bucky said and shot Steve a wry grin, then put the package of the name brand pasta back on the shelf and replaced it with the bulk generic version. "Any chance I can persuade you to tell me your opinion on sauces?"

"Depends," Tony quipped back with a thoughtful hum, and looked at Steve as he asked, "Will I be invited to partake in this pasta dish?"

And so that was how Tony ended up coming over for dinner that night. It was mainly the omega giving minimal directions and watching both alphas fluster their way through making lasagna for the first time. It had been ages since Steve had felt any sort of attraction like this. Not since Peggy and though they had ended on amicable terms and still kept in touch on Facebook, Steve knew he didn't react this strongly to her fragrance.

At some point as dinner was cooking in the oven and they were waiting, munching on popcorn, Tony showed them a sonogram photo from his wallet. The sense of love and pride was strong in Tony's voice as he talked about his plans with the baby. Currently he lived with his best friend and alpha James Rhodes. Who had offered to mate with him Tony explained, but the omega stated he knew that would only end in disaster. That him and Rhodes were too much like brothers.

"I said he could adopt, so bambino will have good health insurance for life. He just got back from his air force training so it's just me and his mom at his place," Tony said. “Bambi deserves the best medical care considering I’m unmated and I know there is a high probability of risks, and if legally being adopted by Rhodey is what it takes, I’ll do it.”

Bucky picked up on the term Tony used, squinting at the black and white photo. "So it's a boy? I can never tell with these. I thought that was an arm."

Tony laughed loudly. "Ah no. I mean, still too early to tell. I just _feel_ like it's a boy. Omega intuition." 

Immediately Steve envisioned an adorable baby boy with brown curly hair and big doe brown eyes. Tony’s eyes. It was a nice image. Bucky jammed Steve's foot under the table with the toe of his boot. Steve yelped.

"Have to excuse Stevie," Bucky drawled. "He's been celibate for like three years and can't control his pheromones."

Steve groaned in horror that Bucky could pick up on his lustful hormones. Tony squirmed in his chair, letting out a breathy laugh.

"Don't mind it," Tony quipped with a wolfish grin. "I'm very obviously pregnant now. Nobody looks twice at me nowadays or they give me those scornful 'you're going to hell' looks."

"Eh," Bucky said. “Ignore those looks, please. Don’t let that get to you. People who have time to judge someone they don’t know are just sad, pathetic people and not worth a second of your time. You’re amazing, Tony. Taking this whole thing in stride. What you’re doing is admirable. Especially without an alpha.”

"Bambino wasn't planned, obviously," Tony said quietly, and there was a look of regret on his face. "I did tell the alpha but they didn't believe me because of my reputation at school. But, uh, that's the funny thing about reputations. Easy to get one based off one instance of being drunk and getting handsy and soon everyone thinks you're easy and you can't ever shake it. I'm not saying it's right, but it is what it is."

“So they denied it,” Steve concluded in a strangled voice.

“In retrospect, I’m glad they did.” Tony fixed Steve a tentative smile. “I never would’ve left that toxic relationship. And then I came here. Sure, my parents disowned me in the process but I got something so much better in return. And what are the odds I run into you again, Steve? In a metropolis with over eight million people at a grocery store neither of us go to regularly? Must be fate.”

“Fate,” Steve repeated, an unbidden smile coming to his face.

“He does have a point,” Bucky mused, his blue-grey eyes glinting. “Stevie is a hopeless romantic, Tony. Believes in that whole true love alpha omega soulmate stuff. Cries in theaters when movies depict it. Be careful of using that word. Steve takes that word very seriously.”

Steve threw a popcorn kernel at him. Bucky easily caught it in his mouth.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when Steve felt a brush against his ankle. It was Tony’s foot.

Bucky made a mock retching noise when he realized what was happening under the table. He fixed both of them an incredulous look. “Footsies? Really? My god. I’m leaving. Call me when dinner's ready. I can’t believe…”

* * *

It was so late it was early when Tony came home. Despite the dozen text messages the omega had sent, James Rhodes could not sleep until he knew his friend was home. Besides, his _irritating and inconsiderate_ friend refused to answer his damn phone. How was he to know someone hadn't kidnapped the omega and someone else was sending those texts?

The very moment his friend walked through the doorway Rhodey had his arms full of a protesting omega.

"Sugarplum, squeezing me a bit hard.” Tony wheezed as Rhodey took in that familiar honey cinnamon scent but there was more on his MIT sweatshirt. His friend smelled like _two_ alphas, not just one.

"What the hell," Rhodey shouted. "You can't just run off with two strange alphas like that! I was going to call the cops to file a missing person report but realized I couldn't because I have _Tony fucking Stark_ living with me and then the damn media would find out and then so would she. It's," Rhodey looked down at his watch, "5 in the morning, Tony. You went to the grocery store at 3 PM _yesterday_ and now it's 5 AM the _next_ _day_. Do you really think that's okay? A _text_, a fucking text is all I get?"

Tony's answering texts throughout the evening had assured he was fine. That he had run into "Steve" and his friend and had gone to Brooklyn for dinner. As if that was completely normal and would placate him. Steve, whom Rhodey never met and only heard about from the omega. Worse, now he knew Tony had very intentionally wrote 'friend' and not 'alpha friend' because the genius surely had known Rhodes would've had a conniption.

"I'm sorry! I just lost track of time, we had dinner and then started talking and watched a few movies and and—" Tony whined petulantly, trying to break free from the embrace but Rhodes held onto him tighter. The omega settled once he scented the _scared scared love love protect protect_ pheromones emitting from the shaking alpha. Rhodes was silently crying. "Sourpatch, I'm fine. Bambino is fine. I'm really sorry, I didn't realize—"

"No you didn't! I trust _you_ but there’s _other people_ out there who could hurt you if they find out who you really are," Rhodey stressed, voice thick with a rasp. "For a genius you're an idiot. You can't send me a text like that! You telling me _via text_ out of the blue that you're going to some strange alpha’s place in a different city is _not okay_. The world is a dangerous place and you have no idea where my thoughts were leading. You're just seventeen and my responsibility."

Tony wriggled in his arms.

Rhodey narrowed his gaze at the top of his friend's head right under his chin, immediately picking up on his friend's underlying emotions. "Does Steve know you're seventeen?"

"It's not like that," Tony mumbled into Rhodey’s chest. He was still squished. “Nothing happened.”

Rhodey growled inside his chest. "So that's a no."

"Jesus Christ you're worse than Janice and that's saying something. I'm pregnant! No alpha is going to want me like this—”

"Not true. Tony that's simply not true. Plenty of alphas won't care. You pregnant makes it worse! They'll think you’re easy—”

Tony stiffened and Rhodey immediately regretted what he just said. Tony pulled free from him and the hurt was so palpable it soured that sweet scent and quickly permeated the entire living room with _hurt and pain_.

"Leave the poor boy alone," Roberta Rhodes growled from the doorway, still dressed in her nightgown after walking down the stairs due to the loud commotion. Her alpha glare could kill. "Tony is clearly fine, and you're making him upset which is not good for his worrying health. Shame on you James Rupert Rhodes for saying such a vile lie like that. Your father and I did not raise you to think such awful, bigot things."

"Mama—” Rhodey gulped when Roberta narrowed her eyes when she took in the sight of Tony's tears.

Tony sniffled, sitting down on the sofa to settle his frayed nerves.

"Tony I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that," Rhodey pressed, eyes contrite. "I was worried and hadn't slept and wasn't thinking. If something happened to you or bambi I don't know what..." The man trailed off, too emotional to say the words out loud. That nightmarish thought kept the alpha up way too many nights than he cared to brood over.

Tony let out a watery laugh, hand swiping at his wet eyes. Roberta fumed darkly at her son before sitting down next to the boy.

"I understand, don't apologize," Tony said, and his tone was deceivingly light and steady despite his smell. "You, her, the dean of MIT, my parents all share in that opinion. Steve probably thought that too when we first met, I bet. You know what? It doesn't matter. Soon I'll be eighteen and won't be your _responsibility_ anymore. Me and my _easy ways_ will figure something else out—"

"Don't talk about yourself like that," Roberta snapped, but her tone was gentle, and her face was concerned. "And don't you dare even think twice about staying here with us. You're family. That's my grandbaby and if I have to kick out my own son with his asinine comments," She fixed her son another hard scowl. "Then that's what I'm going to do.”

"G-grandbaby?" Tony stuttered, confused.

Roberta fixed Tony a loving smile but her eyes were sad. Rhodes knew Tony didn't view the word 'family' like they did, and it irked him to no end how the Starks treated his best friend. "_Family_ is not tied to just biology. My son's mate or not. That doesn't matter and never will. You're a part of this pack, honey. Even when you find your mate for life and form your familial pack with them. You and that precious baby will always be a part of ours. Hope you don't find it presumptuous of me to think of that child as my grandbaby."

Tony looked at her with a stunned, wide-eyed expression. "What? No, of course not. That means you're going to be the only g-grandparent this baby will have and that's w-wonderful. T-thank you. God, I'm not crying, okay? It's hormones, okay?"

"Thank god," Rhodey breathed, and he gave his mother a grateful look. It sickened him to think of Tony leaving after his stupid, insensitive remark. "Because we wouldn't have it any other way." Rhodey sat on the other side of Tony, and with the sniveling from the omega and his mother's knowing, angry alpha stare, Rhodey knew then what he had to say to make this right. If he had any chance to keep Tony permanently in his life, he needed to accept that being so overprotective would only serve to push the omega away.

"I'm sorry for saying you're my responsibility, because you're _not an obligation_ or anything like that. You are your own person and you're allowed to go out and do things with friends, or-or potential mates. You're my best friend, Tones, and if you trust Steve that much, then I'd like to meet him, _please_. You said he goes to NYU? Have him come over for dinner," Rhodey acquiesced. An olive branch.

"And his friend?" Tony inquired quietly after a long pause. The omega's tentative smile was hard to miss.

"Yes, we would love to meet them _both_," Roberta affirmed when Rhodey didn't respond instantly. Roberta fixed her son a warning glance over Tony's downcast head. "This is your home too. My son is right: the world can be a dangerous place, but you can't live scared and not want to open up with other people. I think it's wonderful you met two people you clearly felt that comfortable with to blow off my idiot son all night for. You know, when I met my omega, James' father, we stayed up for twelve hours straight just talking and I missed the bus home. Honey, sometimes, that's just how it goes when you have that connection. It’s a wondrous feeling to experience and worth fighting for."


	3. Twenty Weeks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **TW**: *points to A+ parenting tags*. Also, brief mention of of the word abortion. Literally just the word.

Tony woke up that morning with a crick in his neck and severe heartburn. Officially at twenty weeks, Bambi was no bigger than a coconut but was already giving him trouble and keeping him up all night long.

He had no idea how he was going to survive parenthood if being five months pregnant was already defeating him.

He checked his phone- almost two in the afternoon. He had gone to bed absolutely drained after a full day of tutoring local students in math to earn income on the side. He hated relying on the Rhodes' generosity so much and wanted to make his own money with what he had. His best asset has always been his mind and until seven months ago he had been on the fast track to graduating early with a double major. His undergraduate degree should've been a given but dare he sullied MIT prominent reputation so the dean decided he hadn’t actually earned all his undergraduate credits.

At the local tutoring center he had met Eddie Brock, an aspiring journalist and Virginia Potts, a business major who wanted to go into business administration. Eddie's liberal arts degree required at least six credits of math. Once he created a correlation spreadsheet between the math equations to the different types of journalism writing styles, the blonde omega had caught on quick. Virginia's math requirement was more robust but still easy for him to teach. He quite liked it, an easy way to make money and he could set his own schedule. He went to the campus three days a week.

Eddie and Virginia were both omegas. And like all omegas, there was an instantaneous kinship formed. Tony nicknamed Virginia "Pepper" because whenever she got mad or annoyed, her scent reminded him of pepper spices. He told her so when they argued. She was at first miffed when he called her ‘red hot chili peppers’ as a double entendre and then later asked he call her ‘Pepper’ as ‘hot chili peppers’ was a mouthful. He agreed.

"You're scarier than an alpha, Pepper," he told her truthfully. "I like that about you. You can do all the yelling I don't want to. You may even give Rhodey's mom a run for her money there."

Pepper's cheeks flushed red and she smelled pleased. "Well what should I call you?"

"Genius. Futurist. Mr. Fantastic, take your pick.”

“Afraid that last one is already taken,” Pepper said with a teasing smile. “And the first two aren’t very distinguishing. Going to have to find a better one.”

“I’m sure we’ll think of it, one day,” Tony promised.

Pepper also informed Tony she had a friend whose office could help him when he mentioned off-handedly the news his baby was an alpha worried him. She was the only one he had told about Sunset with full disclosure. He hadn't told Rhodey yet, not wanting to add more stress to his friend's plate.

Tony was a genius, but he was slow on the uptake.

"For what?"

"For custody," Pepper said, and gave him an exasperated look. "You should look into it _now_. She might fight for custody and the law will favor her because she is the alpha and because the baby is too, she automatically has more custodial rights than you by default. Nelson and Murdock are the best law firm for omegan rights. Especially given how young you are- you could have a real argument in court. Rape is a serious offense."

At the word ‘court’ his expression went sour and scared.

"What! No, I don't want to talk about that," Tony said, and mumbled quietly. "I was very willing in that regard."

Pepper gave him a sad look. "Statutory rape. It doesn't matter that you're eighteen now. From what you told me, she sounds like a real piece of work. Please." She tried to hand him a card from her bag but he made no motion to take it.

"Uh, remember the whole ‘parents disowned me’ story? That included cutting me off from the trust fund," Tony told her. "I'm not going to burden Rhodey with hiring a sleazy lawyer on top of everything else."

"Nelson and Murdock are not your typical law firm," Pepper insisted. "Most of their work was with the OCLU, and they only hung their own shingle recently.”

The mention of OCLU made him pause. Omega Civil Liberties Union was a reputable nonprofit and one of the few organizations in the country that was able to sustain itself without any government backing (ha, because the government would never favor omega rights, duh).

"I don't like being handed things."

“Go to their office. They welcome walk-ins." Pepper tucked the card in his shirt pocket instead. "If not for yourself, then your baby."

"You play dirty, Ms. Potts."

The kid wasn't even here yet and there was not a single thing Tony wouldn't do for him. That included the embarrassment of asking a lawyer to take on his case pro bono. He quickly got showered, dressed, and ate the leftovers in the fridge before heading out to the nearest T station. Chicken and dumplings - his recent craving lately and Roberta had been very accommodating on feeding him whatever he wanted. Most of his upbringing was always watching his weight and calorie intake (Maria Stark’s influence) and Ana, Jarvis’ mate and the Stark household cook, had always made sure to fellow the Stark’s strict regime. Now he could eat whatever he wanted, and he was pregnant, so he was eating everything he ever wanted tenfold.

The address was in lower west Manhattan, in Hell's Kitchen. Two minutes in that area and Tony could easily tell why it earned that particular moniker. The building looked abandoned and decrepit and he had serious doubts it was up to code. The elevator made an alarming scraping sound as it made the climb to the 7th floor. The glass-door with the firm name embossed on the front was broken and the doorknob completely fell off when he twisted it to walk in. It didn't look that much better inside either - the smell of mothballs and dust was potent.

The redhead alpha seated at the receptionist desk made a pitiful moan, her back to him as she typed at the computer in her chair. "God damnit! I thought Frank had fixed that."

Tony put the detached door knob on her desk. "If you got a screwdriver, I can fix it."

The woman whirled around in her chair to face him. Her scent reminded him of willow.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to swear like that. Please take a seat. Do you need a cup of water?"

"That’d be great, thanks," Tony replied politely. He caught sight of her neck. She had two marks. Not necessarily unusual - widow remating wasn't new - but both marks were bright red against her pale skin and very much active on her mating gland.

Her gaze caught his and when he didn't say anything, she smiled.

"Yep," the woman confirmed. "Triad mating is possible. More common than you might think. A lot of benefits, even. You know, scientists have said our ancestors always had multiple mates. But society likes to ignore our biological imperative in favor of brainwashing us that it’s abnormal."

When he explained that he didn't like to be handed things, she placed the plastic cup of water on the side table where he sat without comment.

"Foggy's in court all day. But if you're willing to wait around, Matt should be done with his conference call soon," she told him. "My name is Karen Page."

"Tony Collins," he said. "No worries. I have nowhere to be for the rest of the day."

"Wait, you're the omega Tony Jeanie was telling me about," Karen said with a raised brow.

He grimaced. "You call her Jeanie?"

Karen smirked. "To annoy her, yes."

"I'll have to remember that."

"If you don't mind, Mr Collins, we ask potential clients to fill out a demographic survey," Karen said, and ruffled through the cluttered desk for a clipboard and pen. "If you don't feel comfortable answering something, you can leave it blank."

He filled out most of it. Name, gender identity, secondary gender, mate status. All typical stuff. The income brackets section made him pause. He checked the last row. He didn’t want to count Rhodey’s income as part of this. He was adamant to keep this secret. If worse came to worse, he was sure he could work out a deal with them. Already he could see a dozen areas that needed a lot of electrical engineering repairs.

A few minutes later there was a distinctive sound of a colorful cursing in the adjacent room next to them. Karen stood up and knocked once before walking in. Tony took this moment to look around the receptionist area. He saw the plaque above Karen's desk - her paralegal certificate was less than a year old. Pepper had told him Nelson and Murdock were a formidable force. She mentioned the alpha/omega pair had met and fell in love at Columbia Law School. It was romantic, he thought. A mated pair that lived and worked together, equals in everything and passionate about what they did for a living.

When the door opened, his first surprise was realizing he had presumed wrong that he would be meeting the omega lawyer. Societal laws dictated alphas names were put first in alpha/omega businesses, which made him think Nelson was the alpha, Murdock the omega.

Second surprise was the quick understanding Murdock was obviously blind. Which would explain the discrimination part Pepper mentioned the alpha lawyer had faced. The man's red tinted glasses along with his worn out suit looked like it had seen better days. The alpha smell reminded Tony of frankincense and myrrth resin. Pine-needle. Woodsy smoke.

"Apologies if you heard that," the man said, and Karen rolled her eyes. They looked at each other and there seemed to be a non-verbal communication between them only mated pairs could share. She motioned for Tony to go in as she walked over to sit at her desk.

"Matthew Murdock," the alpha said, and with unerring aim walked right in front of him and stuck out his hand.

Tony shook it. "Tony Collins."

Matthew smiled. "You're lying."

Tony blanched. "No I'm not."

"Huh uh," Matthew said, letting go of Tony's hand and going back to sit behind his desk. "Listen I can't help you unless you're 100 percent honest with me. If I'm going to be your lawyer, I need to know everything. The good, the bad, and the ugly. _Especially_ the ugly."

Matthew reached for a desk drawer and pulled out a calendar, back to Tony. "I am bound by lawyer-client confidentiality."

Tony took a deep breath and took the risk. Five minutes later, Matthew was sputtering.

"I can't believe this. I'm talking to a billionaire's son who has five dollars."

"Which part? The billionaire's son or five dollars? Actually," Tony dug into his pockets again and dropped a few coins on the desk. "Four quarters. _Six_ dollars."

"Yes, I can see that," Matthew intoned, and Tony _pointedly_ did not make a comment.

“So, I know I only have six dollars on me, and barely two hundred in my bank account right now,” Tony started, hands nervously twitching in his lap. “I am an engineer. I can fix some electrical issues you’re clearly having.”

“Can I be frank with you?” Matthew asked and when Tony gave a nod, the alpha continued, “Consider this a free consultation. I rarely charge. My omega is the breadwinner. Rising star in the District Attorney’s Office and I do this for fun. His name is first because he’s the better lawyer. Me? I’m just the lucky alpha he got roomed with at law school. Then I got lucky again when he agreed to take my mark.”

The awe and love was so palpable, he couldn’t help but feel a bit envious. Not of Nelson, or Murdock, necessarily, but hearing any alpha talk about their omega like that. He used to believe Sunset felt that way about him. In the beginning, she had certainly been open how she found him so brilliant and sweet, and loved to sing him praises. But when he came to her wanting her mark, she refused. And then she had-

“Now,” Matthew said in a brisk tone, pulling Tony from his dark thoughts. “Karen already told me about you before you came in.”

“I’m that popular, huh?”

“Virginia helped me, Foggy, and Karen out once,” Matthew admitted. “With an ex of mine.” The alpha shifted in his chair, turning his head sideways. There was a faded mark on his neck. The smell of regret and sadness hung in the air. “Long story, but I told your friend if she ever needed legal services, we would be _personally offended_ if she didn’t come to Foggy and me first. So when she told Karen, who then told me, I did some preliminary research on the situation. Now, I’m going to assume she doesn’t know your real name because this throws a wrench into my initial plans.”

“Uh no,” Tony answered sheepishly. “Can you blame me though?”

“Might want to tell her,” Matthew advised. “Virginia gets very...upset if she’s in the dark.”

“Pepper,” Tony quipped. “She smells very spicy when she’s very upset. It’s a bad pun, but she likes the nickname.”

Matthew let out a guffaw, and he agreed.

* * *

He checked his phone before hailing a cab. His feet hurt way too much to make the trek back to the subway station and he had just enough cash to get him to the village.

He saw he had an unread messages sent over an hour ago during the time he was with Matt discussing details (the alpha insisted he be called Matt and _not_ Mr. Murdock). It was from Bucky.

He clicked on the message icon and upon opening it he erupted into laughter.

It was a picture of a white baby bear flailing on a bed in different shots. Caption: when you’re pregnant and trying to find a comfy position in bed.

He sent a reply: _You're cruel. Don't put me on blast like this again, Barnes. 😒🤣-T_

The response was immediate: _sorry, just couldn't help it, doll. 😁 speaking of how is the avocado 🥑 doing?_

The smile came on his face unbiddenly. Bucky had remembered his talk on comparing the growth of his baby to fruit and vegetable sizes.

_He's now officially graduated to coconut phase 🥥. A very bouncy coconut. I think he's training for the world cup. 😩-T_

He pocketed his phone and gave Rhodey’s address to the driver. Throughout the past weeks, he and Bucky would exchange frequent texts - mainly memes and food pics. If he saw something that reminded him of the alpha, he would take a photo and send it before his brain told him not to. Not to say he didn't do the same with Steve, though their texts were different. Less meme sharing and food pics and more deep conversation.

The day they both came over, Rhodey reluctantly agreed he liked them. He reassured his friend a thousand and one times he wasn't looking to jump into anything. His number one focus was on Bambi. But that didn't mean he didn't want to have company. With Sunset there had been immediate lust and mutual infatuation and they never talked like he did with Bucky and Steve. He found he liked just talking to them. Together or separate. They were both funny and sweet, in their own unique ways. Never said he was naive and always made him smile.

Besides, Bambi liked them, he could tell. He was more calm if one of them were around. He teased that his baby liked _them_ more than him. Never-mind that he was the one carrying with aching feet and the constant urge to pee.

Once he was back home and sitting on the sofa, he pulled out his phone again.

Bucky's last text was a photomanip gif of a soccer player making a score with a baby’s head pasted over. He snorted. He had no idea where Bucky found these. It made his insides feel warm. To think the alpha was thinking of him that much—

Roberta reached over and ruffled his hair affectionately as she walked by, heading towards the kitchen.

"Must be some text if you're grinning like a loon at your phone. I know what you young lot do on your phones nowadays. The other day I was at church and can you _believe_ the Wilson’s son was watching porn on his phone in the middle of service?"

"Roberta!" He said in a mock scandalized tone, and put down his phone and gestured to his bump. "I have young ears growing here. Bambi can now hear outside the womb, you know."

"Which reminds me," Roberta said with a hum, a twinkle in her eye. "What did the doctor say? Everything going good? Are we in the clear to plan a party?"

"A party for what? Who would we invite beside ourselves?"

"Silly, a baby shower. I know before you said no on the count you didn’t know anyone when you first arrived, but I think we both know that's changed. Eddie, Virginia, Steve, Bucky, Clint and Natasha." Tony appreciated she didn’t pry more. They both knew he had gotten the blood work results on what the baby’s secondary gender was. That was a nice thing about Roberta, she asked the question once and never pushed again. Radically different from his parents in that regard.

Well, Roberta Rhodes was radically different in every way. She wanted to _celebrate_ his baby, whereas his parents wanted him to get an abortion.

"Virginia is Pepper now," Tony informed her. "Oh wow. You're right Mama Rhodes. I have expanded my circle of friends. Clint and Natasha are more of Buck and Steve's friends than mine though."

"They seemed awfully fond of you when we went to their cafe," Roberta pressed. "How could they not? You’re wonderful."

"Or they feel pity for me," Tony said automatically.

"Nonsense," Roberta admonished. "You’re real special, honey, and people can sense you’re going to be destined for greatness. And that baby too. I knew it from the moment my boy called me up to complain about the young omega who could run circles around him in smarts and took over his scheduled lab time. Anyone who could make my stoic son explode over the phone like that made me immediately think you were one of a kind."

He blushed deep red at the compliment. That was another thing he had yet to get used to. Roberta Rhodes loved to tell him he was wonderful and good and worth all the trouble he was putting their family through.

"Wait, I stole _his_ lab time?" Tony repeated with a huff. Rhodey and him had initially met when their independent scheduled lab time at MIT had double booked by accident. Tony knew he had scheduled it in his name, as it always had been for the last six weeks but Rhodey had been adamant it was _Tony_ who was on _his_ time table. They eventually agreed to call it a truce and share. He also realized this was the first time he heard Roberta mention this. “He told you about that? I’m never going to let him live that down now. He said he wasn’t upset!”

Roberta smiled when Tony’s phone chimed again. “Oh, you better answer that. Someone might be sending you a _pity_ text again.”

He gave her a very fond, affectionate look as she disappeared to the kitchen. He went back to his phone and saw this message was a group message with Bucky and Steve. Meme titled: pick yourself along with various pictures of dogs. Underneath each photo was a brief, short and hilarious personality description.

Steve: _It was unanimous. buck and I agreed you’re pretty pupperina._

Bucky: _steve is happ cloud.  
_

Steve: _buck is attac doggo._

_ _

He snickered, picturing the dark-haired alpha wearing a popcorn bucket for a hat. He laughed so hard, he was crying. 

Tony: _You guys are so weird. -T_

Five minutes later: 

_You’re both wrong btw. -T_

_ I’m a cat. 😼 -T _

_ _

“Mama Rhodes?” Tony called out. “Do you mind if Bucky and Steve come over for dinner again?”

Roberta appeared in the doorway, apron on. “Are you asking or telling me, honey?”

“So, I’m really bad at picking up cues,” Tony admitted sullenly. “I have no...dating experience. Ha, that’s sad isn’t it? Ugh, this is awkward. I want to date them both? Is that weird?”

“Sweetie, that is not weird,” Roberta said with a grin. “I figured that was where this was going but my boy refused to believe. What’s weird is you giggling at your phone for the past five minutes.”

It was settled. He would ask them tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is kind of what I used to base OCLU off of.  
2) So, I have a few scenes with the trio (like Bucky giving Tony massages, Steve actually burning food cooking for Tony, just domestic fluff, first kiss, Natasha witnessing the boys besotted at the cafe shop) but I never could find a place to put those scenes in. Would people be interested in timestamps drabbles? Lol, my characters write themselves, I swear.  
3) I upp'd the chapter count. Oops *points to characters* I stopped trying to wrangle them.


	4. timestamp: truth (or dare)

“Truth,” Bucky said when it was his turn.

Tony grinned widely. “Who was your first kiss?”

Steve and Bucky looked at each other with equally impressive wide-eyed looks.

“You totally know the answer to this, don’t you,” Bucky accused lightly.

“I suspected,” Tony confessed, smelling pleased. “You two smell kind of together but not? Or it’s because you two have known each other so long, but I had an _inkling_.”

“I was eleven, Buck was twelve,” Steve cut in, and smelled apprehensive. Peggy hadn’t taken this news so lightly when it came up. Some people still felt it was weird for same types to be attracted to each other. “I was really sick in the hospital and the initial prognosis hadn't been good. Not the most romantic first kiss. I think.”

“Oh.” Tony turned quiet.

Bucky sensed the omega’s playful pleased smell turned sudden awkward and apologetic. “Anyway, don’t feel bad. Spoiler alert: Steve survived. I threatened Stevie he get better or else. I'm crying my eyes and heart out and right as I get the gall to lean in, can you believe this jerk? He could barely move but he _threw_ his hand in front of my face and told me he was worried I would get sick.”

“I reminded the jerk he was on his treatments and the doc said he wasn’t infectious anymore but if he was, kissing is not how it spread,” Bucky continued. “So I kissed him. Angrily.”

“This is officially the sweetest and saddest first kiss story I ever heard,” Tony declared. “Wow, also this was so _not_ the answer I was expecting.”

“It was a very wet kiss,” Steve added unhelpfully, and Bucky flashed him an annoyed look. Inwardly Steve was relieved Tony wasn’t weirded out by this.

“Well excuse me, I thought I was kissing the first person I ever loved on their death bed. I wasn’t really thinking about _technique_ at the time.”

“Understandable,” Tony commented lightly, taking another bite of lasagna. He made a face.

Steve immediately asked what was wrong, fear leaping back. 

“Oh, it’s fine,” Tony insisted but Bucky took a bite off his own plate and also grimaced.

“You burned the bottom of the lasagna,” Bucky blurted out. “The rest of it is good, though, Stevie, honest.”

Steve threw another kennel at him. “I followed the instructions.”

“Steve is not normally the cook. He tries, though. Still, better than our regular cereal dinner.”

Tony looked affronted. “Cereal for dinner?”

Bucky looked at Tony with a very cool expression. “Or ramen. We’re poor but we make do. Oh, and if it’s a real good week, mac n cheese _with_ hotdogs.”

Tony’s brow crinkled. “What’s that?”

Steve and Bucky traded equally confused, horrified looks.

“Wait, you’ve never had mac n cheese or hotdogs? Or both?”

“Uh,” Tony started. “I know what hotdogs are, obviously. Never had either. Rhodey’s mom makes that stuff from the box, it’s really good and I _think_ it was mac n cheese? Has a weird hand on the front- “

“Hamburger helper,” Steve and Bucky said at the same time. Bucky kept his mouth shut that having the _brand_ was still more than what they could afford on a regular basis.

Tony nodded, blushing. It was so cute, the alphas just stared. “Y-yeah, that. I didn’t have a…normal upbringing I guess you could say.”

“So what would you usually have for dinner growing up?” Bucky was very interested in hearing this. “Your favorites?”

“Coq au vin,” Tony said with perfect French pronunciation. “My mother’s favorite French dish if she was particularly happy. Ana made the best Saltimbocca I’ve ever had, and only allowed to have it on my birthday.”

Tony’s accent was jarring. Bucky was still amazed how it was _very_ evident right then and there they had completely different upbringings. Neither Bucky nor Steve had any idea what the omega had just said. Steve couldn’t help but pick up the way the omega said allowed and it bothered him.

Bucky had picked up on it too, repeating, “_Allowed_? Who’s Ana? Your mom?” Bucky had heard of some kids calling their parents by their first names. A bit unconventional but he knew some wealthy snobbery households did that.

Tony wriggled in his chair, picking up on their confusion. "Y-yeah. Oh, no, uh. Ana was our cook. Jarvis’ wife. Remember I mentioned him earlier who gifted me my first Terry Pratchett book?"

Bucky picked up his fork, then asked, pointedly, “So, you had a cook _and_ a butler growing up. Your mother liked French dishes. You know how many languages again?”

“Just four,” Tony admitted shyly.

“Just.”

“Italian, Spanish, French and English. I tried to learn Japanese because the first alpha I ever liked was from Japan. I was horrible at the pronunciation and accidentally insulted her instead of complimenting her,” Tony said and okay, that was endearing, Bucky thought.

“She was my first kiss,” Tony added quietly. “I told her she smelled strange instead of like sweets. In my defense, I was _eight_ and Japanese is not an easy language to learn on your own.”

“You win the most awkward first kiss story ever.”

This time Tony threw a kennel at Bucky. "Hey!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okashi (sweets/confection)/Okashii (weird/strange).


	5. Twenty-Two Weeks

Tony woke up to the feel of a hand gently carding through his hair.

It was nice and he sleepily smiled as he soaked in Bucky’s scent that always made his omega hindbrain feel safe and warm and reminded Tony of the best part of winter. A nice, relaxing winter day off without a care in the world when he was young and went to that winter carnival once. There had been candy canes and lots of festive decorations and hot cocoa. It was a far-off memory he didn't realize he had still.

"What time isit?" He murmured; eyes still closed. His brain slowly started to come out of the last vestiges of sleep, and he remembered where he was. Steve and Bucky’s apartment had lately become his second home, what with how often he came by, and how easily he would fall asleep on their sofa. It was a very comfy sofa, he reasoned with himself. Especially right now. It was indulgently too cozy that he felt his brain start to shut off again and fall back into the vacuum of sleep.

Huh. His pillow moved.

"Half past two," Bucky replied.

"Crap." With a jolt Tony lifted his head up from Bucky's shoulder that he had unintentionally been using as a pillow for the past hour. "I fell asleep."

"Yes," Bucky affirmed, tone clearly amused. The alpha had pulled back his hand when Tony had moved and now Tony pouted, feeling bereft of the comforting movement that had originally lured him to sleep. "Hey why you stop?" He grabbed the hand and placed it back. "Felt nice."

"Oh I'm aware," Bucky tilted his head to meet the omega’s plaintive gaze, a teasing smirk playing on his lips and before Tony could make a witty retort, the soothing motion started again, and Tony sighed happily. "You purr a little in your sleep."

Tony's nose twitched. "Do not."

Totally a myth.

Bucky's fingers moved from his scalp to lightly scratch at the skin behind his ear and okay, the noise the omega made _then_ was unquestionably a soft purr.

"That's-That's a dirty move," Tony rasped weakly, and reached up to grip Bucky's wrist. The motions immediately ceased and Bucky smelled contrite. Tony opened his eyes and was met with grey-blue eyes that looked like a kicked puppy right then and there and Tony felt his heart squeeze inside his chest. "Hey no, I like it but that's...you know, a _zone_ for omegas."

It took a comically long time for Bucky to pick up what Tony meant by that and when he did, he made an embarrassing squawk. Tony was unable to help himself from laughing. Bucky looked like a cartoon with how wide his eyes went.

"Ah," Bucky shifted. "Not used to-sorry."

Tony nodded in understanding. They had only recently discussed it, as it was a sensitive subject for the alpha.

Some people still held their bigoted views that it was wrong and immoral to date your own type and Bucky’s own father unfortunately had been one. To Tony it was obvious Steve and Bucky shared an unbreakable bond. Maybe they weren’t mates, but they definitely belonged together. He knew all the backstory now, as sad as it was. That first night he had presumed correctly (Steve and Bucky each other’s first kiss) and he had thought it was sickly sweet. But then the cold realization it never developed into more because of a certain abusive parental figure. Bucky’s father had been stern he wasn’t going to allow his son to be a social outcast and so Bucky, from what Tony gathered, early on became one of those in the closet playboy alpha types to hide it. Bucky wore it well and not a single person could help but blush and sigh when the flirting was directed at them. Bucky exuded the natural charm that nobody would think twice if he really was attracted to the person he was aiming his affections at.

Steve seemed to think it was just his defense mechanism to keep people at a distance and maybe that too. Bucky had stated he had gone out with omegas, but it was clear now what Tony thought ‘gone out with omegas’ referred to was vastly different from what Bucky actually meant. All alphas who ever been intimate or more than kissed an omega, certainly knew of the places you didn’t touch unless you were trying to-

“It’s okay, you didn’t know,” Tony said again, sensing the distraught oozing from the alpha. “No harm done. It’s fine.”

“Thought obvious huh?” Bucky tilted his head to the side and sent him a curious look. “You’re pretty perceptive. I think that’s why I like you so much even when you’re nosy. God help me. Steve always goes for the smart, nosy ones.”

“Yes, now for me and another one of my inquisitive questions.” Tony sat up straighter, remembering what they had been discussing before he had dozed off. “You never liked Peggy. Why?”

Bucky chuckled wearily. “I liked Peggy, I liked her a lot actually. She was fierce and calm and collected at the same time and had no issues telling an alpha off for being a pig. A lot like Nat in some ways. She was smart, too. Not just textbook smart, streets smart. Dangerous combo.”

“I’m sensing a but.”

Bucky had a look in his eye. "Peggy was a traditionalist. In her own misguided way. She wanted to go back to her homeland and I can’t blame a gal for wanting to go back home. She wasn’t sold on America like she had hoped she would be on the exchange program. But she was sold on Steve, that was for sure. Steve would’ve left with her, I think, if she had been a bit more open-minded. There were just little things she said here and there. I think Steve let it go because he knew she was just raised a certain way and he would politely tell her. She wasn’t intentionally rude or a bad person or anything, please don’t think that. I really thought she was the One for Steve, and I know he did too. She expected Steve to mate with her and move to England.”

“Oh,” Tony swallowed, imagination running wild with what that looked like.

“I told him he should go,” Bucky admitted. “Ask Stevie for the rest of the story as I’m sure there’s a lot more he didn’t tell me, and I respect that. He just told me he couldn’t leave the states because his college credits wouldn’t transfer to the UK. But I think, out of guilt, he stayed because of me. I kept telling him he was an idiot, urged him to book a one-way ticket and make amends but he refused.”

“I think it’s obvious he considered you a part of his pack and he couldn’t leave you,” Tony commented quietly. “She could never understand that, if she was traditional. Uprooting your life, moving to a different country...that's a lot to ask of anyone, potential mate or not."

“I think it was a combination of a lot of things,” Bucky continued, and he bit his lip. “People always said as kids we were like two peas in a pod. Then we grew up, started forming our own identities, but still always together. Find Stevie, you find me and vice versa. She said we were too codependent and I told Stevie maybe Peg had a good point. If he’s not willing to bond with someone like Peggy Carter then clearly he needed to reexamine our friendship. Yeah, we traded kisses as kids and teenagers, but we never, you know.”

Tony nodded. “Yes, I know that now. Sorry if me bringing it up brought out bad memories the other night-”

“Ah, no, sugar, never,” Bucky reassured him. “It didn’t. Trust me. Steve never told anyone that before, actually. You guessed it right on the nose. I think we’re both relieved that you didn’t start yelling blasphemy and flinging holy water at us.”

Tony clicked his tongue. “Yes, because I am the poster child for a prim and proper omega in society.”

Bucky laughed softly. “We are quite a motley crew of social misfits aren’t we.”

“Match made in heaven,” Tony quipped. He felt a kick, and a smile broke out on his face. It was still so vastly strange and absolutely wonderful at the same time to feel the little kicks from time to time. “Bambi too. He just kicked.”

“Really?”

“Mmm,” Tony confirmed, and before Bucky could ask, he reached for the alpha’s hand again and this time placed it on the side of his stomach, showing Bucky where exactly to press lightly. An awe-inspiring look bloomed on the alpha’s face when he felt the baby kick against his palm. Tony couldn’t help but think right then and there that smile Bucky gave was a lot more genuine and happier than the ones he saw the alpha throw at the customers who fell over themselves at the counter to give their order. He preened knowing few probably saw Bucky like he was seeing right now.

A small part of him whispered _mate mate mate_.

“Yeah, he likes you a lot,” Tony breathed. “He kicks more for you and Steve than Rhodey and I on demand. He already got favorites.”

Bucky smirked. “He has good taste.”

Tony glared playfully. “Hey!”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell Nat or Clint,” Bucky promised. “They have bets on the due date now, did they tell you?”

“They did,” Tony’s lips twitched into an amused grin. “I said if I guessed right they have to give bambi a lifetime supply of coffee and they called me out trying to get free coffee for life.”

Bucky chuckled. “Technically, I could overrule them if they don’t. They do owe me a favor.”

Tony gave him a confused look.

“I’m a silent partner,” Bucky explained. His eyes looked bemused. “I have zero aspirations to be a business owner, but Nat and Clint needled me into putting my name down as a silent partner on the paperwork.” Then he smiled crookedly. “I gave them a loan to start up the business from my old man’s life insurance proceeds I didn’t know he had until he passed. It was a big surprise to me because he told me I would never inherit anything but he was too cheap to get a will explicitly ensuring that. Because it still listed my mother as the beneficiary, and she had passed before him and by law, it goes to the eldest alpha child, so I got it. I split it with my sister evenly. I figured nothing would piss the old man off more if I helped Clint and Natasha, two alphas in love, use some of that money to get their business started without worrying about some big bank overcharging them for a loan they could never pay off.”

Tony felt a big smile break out on his face before tittering off into laughter. He wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes. “Classic. I love your form of retribution.”

Minutes later, Tony was still laughing.

“Okay, I didn’t think it was _that_ funny,” Bucky commented with a deadpan expression, but he was chuckling because the omega’s laughter was infectious.

“Sorry, sorry, I’m just...” Tony took a deep breath to stop the flow. “The greatest ‘fuck you’ story I’ve heard. I love it. It pleases my soul to know this.”

“I’m glad it pleases you so much my old man is probably rolling over his grave,” Bucky smiled widely. “Glad to see you’re in better spirits now. Ironic, dark humor is what does it for you, got it.”

“Yeah, thanks for letting me crash at the last minute,” Tony sobered up then, remembering why he originally dropped by. He hadn’t gotten great news from Matt, but at least now he was armed with all the knowledge. Thankfully Sunset was out of the picture, but deep down, he worried what if. “I know Steve is in class all day, and I couldn’t wait.”

“I think it’s going to be fine,” Bucky stated calmly and some of that self-assuredness made Tony feel better. “You have all of us, and she won’t even stand a chance if she tries anything. Have you seen us when we’re pissed? Clint, Nat, me, Steve, and god, your Rhodey. He can be scary. I think he almost shot me on sight the other day when I rang the doorbell.”

“He’s military so he’s trained,” Tony warned affectionately. “Actually, I'm here for a favor. I have to go to these mandatory birthing classes, and I need an alpha to go with me - I’m sorry for asking so last minute, but Rhodey is always gone all day, and Steve has classes during the day and I know it’s a delicate thing-”

“You want me to go with you to your birthing classes?” Bucky sounded bewildered. Tony nodded nervously.

“I’m sorry, let’s pretend I didn’t ask-”

“Yes,” Bucky quickly interjected. “I mostly have night shifts this month, so during the day I’m free.”

Tony felt his mouth drop, then he blushed. “Y-yeah? Really? I know we’re not...you know. We’re still in-between figuring it all out, so yeah, no pressure.”

"You misinterpreted what I said the other night didn't you?" Bucky sighed, fixating the fumbling omega an exasperated and fond look. "Just because I said I'm more attracted to alphas, doesn't mean I'm not attracted to you."

"Yes, but, I don't want you say you're attracted to me out of-of whatever obligation you might feel for whatever reason, and my attraction for you should not influence how you really feel so please don't -"

"Hey," Bucky reached for his hand. "I like you. Tony Stark, you-you if you catch my drift. Omega. Alpha. That part is irrelevant. Or if you didn't identify as either one, I still be attracted. I'm attracted to _you_, as an individual. It's just, uh, my brain's hardwired to pick up alpha attractiveness first, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a pretty omega here or there. Not that I think your worth is your looks because clearly you have a lot of power in that brain of yours, and I'm excited to see what you do with it."

He blushed. "Yeah, I got a few ideas." By now he was surprised he hadn't bored them both to death with the design semantics.

"I know you do," Bucky flitted back. "I understand maybe six percent of all it, and Steve also told me he understands about six percent so that's 12 percent we dumb alphas have managed to comprehend together and I'm afraid you're going to have to layman's terms walk us through the remaining 88 percent indefinitely."

Laughing, he felt himself grow warm at the thought. "I have no qualms doing that. Indefinitely."

"Deal," Bucky hummed. "I'm honored you trust me that much."

"I just fell asleep and drooled on your arm," Tony was quick to point out. "Clearly I trust you impeccably."

"Yes, and I'm also honored by that too," Bucky told him with a half-grin. "Me and my arm. When’s the first class?”

“Wednesday at 2 pm.”

* * *

Asking Bucky to join him for birthing classes ended up not at all what Tony expected.

First, there were the introductions. Which was awkward considering the circumstances. There were uncomfortable, tense looks exchanged with the other pairs when it came to Bucky and Tony's turn in the circle.

Bucky, however, seemed to thrive in this kind of environment. He exchanged a quick glance with Tony and mouthed what he wanted to do, and Tony, well, he was also big time curious to see this play out and nodded. Though part of him wondered if Bucky was also hopeful in the future they might all want to-

"So you're not-?"

"Is it-?" There was hand gesturing and Tony realized what the other omega was rudely asking.

"We don't know," Bucky shrugged nonchalantly. "Either way, doesn't matter. Still going to be ours. Right, darling?" He winked at Tony.

Darling.

"Y-yeah," Tony swallowed nervously, face warm, and noted the raised brows. "Doesn't matter who the sire is, this baby is not going to care if they're loved."

"Maybe next time you can bring the other," one omega commented acidly. "I am simply fascinated by people like you two."

"Us two what?" Bucky blinked and scented offended.

The female omega backpedaled. "Oh, you know. You think it's _acceptable_ to have more than one mate and think it's healthy but that poor baby will be confused its whole life. Emotional instability is a damaging thing for a young alpha's mental health-"

Tony coughed into his hand to hide Bucky's bout of cursing under his breath.

Bucky smiled at the woman like she had just given him the best compliment. He reached for Tony's hand.

"Actually, that's outdated," Bucky answered simply. "There's no definite proof babies raised in two mate households have better emotional well-being than those in multiple."

"Still, not healthy." This came from the middle-aged alpha beside the pregnant omega, who clearly was the kind of alpha that held 'my views are always superior to yours' mentality. At least the omega had some semblance of an abashed expression and Tony immediately felt sorry for her. He could already tell if she ever held any differing opinion in any matter, clearly her alpha wouldn't care to listen.

"Psychologists have proven children raised in intolerant households are more prone to depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts," Bucky's tone was curt and clipped. "So, that's clear_ clinical evidence_ to say regardless of how many parents a child has or doesn't have, if any parent figure is a bigot asshole who doesn't have human compassion - then maybe that's more of the pressing issue at hand here."

At this point Tony wondered if someone was going to need to call security with the way Bucky and the other alpha were glaring each other down.

Also, very very not appropriate to think this was in any way whatsoever, hot as hell. Up until this moment, he'd only seen Bucky's sweet-natured and easy-going disposition. Right now though, the alpha looked like he could murder. It was as if a flip had been switched and Tony was doused with the cold-hard awareness that he was seeing a side of Bucky that fiercely reminded the omega there was a reason why alphas, societally, were always depicted as the protectors, the warriors, the big, bad alpha wolves in childhood stories. The pheromones permeated the room and not a single person was unaware it was a precursor to a brawl.

The instructor, a small petite omega who realized they were way past the introduction part of the class, made a timid announcement they needed to move on to the next portion of the class and for them to grab a mat.

Tony squeezed Bucky's fingers with his and made a noise to pull Bucky's attention back on him. "No sense to argue with someone who won't bother to listen, bear. C'mon, I see a seat next to the window over there. Let's grab it before someone else does. I really like seeing the skyline up this high from here."

Afterwards he realized the entire time Bucky not once let go of his hand, clearly needing the contact to settle himself. Tony recognized those jittery nerves and squeezed back.

"Sorry," Bucky apologized unnecessarily, eyes still clouded and seemingly seeing the omega for the first time. Tony recognized that look. All alphas got them in the heat of the moment. He let his fingers run up and down the alpha's arm in a calming motion. Unlike Howard Stark, he knew Bucky would never hurt _him_.

"Don't be," Tony whispered quietly, bringing their foreheads together. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this."

"Please, I'm not letting you deal with this alone with those idiots," Bucky whispered back. They both felt the heated stares on their turned backs.

Tony gave him a lopsided smile.


	6. Sunset, twenty-four weeks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEED the tags. I updated them. This chapter is rough.  
The first part of this I wrote originally, set right before Chapter 1. But it's mostly for Sunset, because she takes over the next few chapters so it's a thing I needed for the next one. I also went back and forth if Tony is really forthright what happened to him, and ultimately decided, he's not. Though Rhodey had his suspicions, Tony never confirmed it that first day. Which I hope explains why Rhodey is very very worried/protective.

** _THEN_ **

Sunset’s dark eyes were livid when she took in what Tony told her. The piece of paper in his hand depicted a blood test result and everyone knew what those numbers meant.

Scowling, she took the paper and tore it in two, flinging the scraps at the omega.

“So, you’ve been sleeping around, and you were stupid enough to not use protection,” Sunset surmised hauntingly. “I bet it’s Tiberius Stone’s. You were pretty cozy to him at that party. You know how embarrassing it is to hear rumors the omega you’re in love with is two-timing you?”

Tony wore a shocked expression at her reaction, scenting hurt. “What? Sunset, what the fuck? I’m not a cheater! I love you! This baby is yours. You’re the only alpha I’ve ever been with. Ever want to be with, and look, I know we’re both young but we can make this work. You just got that job lined up in San Diego and I can transfer to school there and we can raise the—”

“Tony,” Sunset interrupted coolly, her lips pursed. “Are you stupid? I can’t do that. I can’t be with you, not openly until you’re eighteen. Besides, a baby?” She let out a laugh, as if Tony had just delivered the funniest punchline.

“You’re actually serious.” Sunset realized with a stunned tone, shaking her head in disbelief. “You and I could be brilliant together. Remember our plans to build our own company together after you graduate? A baby would _ get in the way _ of that. Get an abortion and put this behind you. Please. For me?”

Tony’s eyes were wide and he stared at the woman, the alpha he had just professed his love to, and before he spat out coldly, “No.”

Sunset’s expression darkened. Tony had never denied her, never used that word before. 

“Excuse me? I would proudly put my mark on you right now if I could. But you need to look at this logically – rationally – use that smart brains of yours, my beautiful oma, you’re going to ruin your future and mine with this scandal. Wait for me, be patient, is all I’m asking. If you really love me, you’ll do this for me. And later, when we’re both older and more settled in our careers, I’ll give you a baby. I’ll give you all the beautiful babies you want.”

Tony’s scent oozed with _ hate hate hate _.

“You’re a piece of work. You’re seriously telling me you love me yet you want me to abort our baby. And you had _ zero remorse as you said it _. God damn it, Sunset. Rhodey was right, you have some deep-seated issues and need help and I was too blind to see it.”

Tony stood up and walked out of the apartment. She let the omega’s words turn in her head, realizing the error of how she put it so indelicately. 

She sighed. They had discussed mating, one day. And babies, in an abstract way, sure. But now? Countless times they had discussed their future plans together. Graduate. Both get jobs, then slowly, build up their own start-up tech company. Before Tony, she never believed omegas could be brilliant. But Tony Stark, he was different. Special. _ Hers _.

Her brilliant, beautiful omega. They were supposed to build a company together. Invent amazing creations together. She needed him, just as much as he so obviously needed her. Especially now, if he was serious about actually- 

No, no, she knew deep down, Tony did not want this.

Tony was still by the elevator bay, waiting for the closed doors to open. He turned around when he heard her walk up behind him.

“Sunset,” Tony started. He fidgeted, picking up on her bristled scent. “Don’t. I'm leaving you. You made your point. I’m not going to force you to care since it’s obvious you don’t.”

“I care about _ you_,” Sunset snapped. “You’re not thinking straight and I’m going to save you from making the stupidest mistake in your life. I’ll call us a cab and take us to a discrete clinic. We’ll take care of this and we’ll move on.”

“Clinic? I’m not going to-” She reached forward and gripped his wrist at the same time he reached for his phone. The device cluttered to the floor. Tony winced when he reached down to pick it up and saw the screen was cracked. 

“You can’t make me."

Sunset let out a tittering laugh. “What choice do you really have, Oma? You just told me your parents gave you the same ultimatum. Difference between them and me is the law needs _ my _ permission to let you get one, not theirs.”

He let out a humorless laugh. “You won’t admit it to the dean to save me from getting kicked out but _ now _ you’ll be my alpha to give me permission to get an abortion?”

She reached for his wrist again and he immediately intercepted her touch with his other hand, fingernails digging in and she growled. She pushed him back into the closed elevator behind them, and he winced when the back of his head made impact with the metal doors. “Blood doesn’t lie, does it? What I want overrides what you want. They’ll just do a blood test confirming I’m the alpha and then this problem you brought between us won’t be one anymore.”

“Not your problem anymore,” Tony spat, bitterness heavy in his tone. The pain from the impact made his eyes water and he gripped the side of the wall next to the elevator door to hold himself up. “Don’t t-touch me.”

Sunset made a choked sound in the back of her throat, realizing her shove had been rougher than intended. “Oh god, are you hurt? Baby, please I didn’t mean-” She reached to touch the back of his head to feel for herself-

A voice emitted from Tony’s phone.

“Miss Bain, please step away now or I will call the authorities for assault.”

Sunset immediately dropped her arms, eyes glaring at the sound of a female voice. Her gaze narrowed, trying to find the source. “Who was that? What did you turn on?”

“AI prototype,” Tony informed her coldly. He sounded surprised as she felt. “I didn’t turn anything on. It’s supposed to be automatic. If I’m in danger, my scent triggers it. The authorities are called if I’m not able to do it myself.”

Sunset had a thoughtful look on her face then. “If your little toy worked properly it would recognize right now you’re only a danger to _yourself_, thinking of going through this unmated-”

“Bye Sunset,” Tony retorted dully. The closed elevator doors finally opened, and he stepped inside it. 

She seethed, then walked back to her apartment. There on the nightstand was her omega’s beloved watch. He rarely took it off, even during lab work. Sometimes the omega would leave random trinkets at her place, and she always encouraged it. It always meant he would return to her. It meant he felt safe with her to leave things here.

Deep down she knew he wouldn’t be returning, even for this.

She turned it over and saw the _inscription_ on the back. 

_ Love, _

_ EJ _

It took her a moment to realize who the initials signified and she scoffed.

She never understood why her omega felt such a fondness for the help, but she never said it out loud. Inwardly she thought it was improper.

She ran her thumb over the initials and with a jolt realized the back of it had opened.

Oh.

* * *

** _NOW_ **

Sunset picked up when she saw the familiar caller ID pop up on her phone.

"Carly," she purred into her mouthpiece. "Did it work?"

"It did," the man confirmed. He sounded impressed. "Practically salivated in my arms."

"Arms? Don't get sentimental," Sunset admonished.

"Sunny, you know I can't resist," Carlton replied gravelly. They grew up together and Sunny and Carly was what they always called each other as young pups. 

"Young pretty blond omegas are my ultimate weakness."

Sunset laughed. "Yes I know. A beneficial thing for me your young pretty blond is such a good friend of my Oma's." She looked down at the documents from the Omega center she hacked into. Alpha.

Her beautiful Oma was giving her an alpha. 

"I'll forward you my address in Manhattan to send the shipment," Carton continued. Back the business as always. The alpha mongrel didn't like small talk for long.

"Once I return from the Infotech conference I'll wire the funds. As we agreed. My Oma is brilliant yes but I know he needs time once he has the parts he needs."

"You sound very sure he's going to make you what you want," Carlton said with a hint of skepticism. "It's been months since you've had access to his work. I know you two had plans and worked together but-"

"Drake," Sunset interrupted coolly. "Don't question my intuition ever again. I know my Oma. He may not have my mark but he soon will. I thank you for your assistance but do not ever question me again or you will soon find yourself grappling with how your little humanitarian company will survive if _ exposed_." She emphasized the last word and the sharp intake on the other end told her the man understood perfectly.

With that she hung up. She pulled up the email that just pinged on her phone and skimmed through it. Boring, boring, boring. Lately all her omega seemed into was stupid internet jokes. She was annoyed. It was a waste of his intellect and it wounded her. When they were together, they coded, they bounced ideas back and forth - not stupid silly jokes. 

“Madame,” JARVIS chimed in her earpiece. “I was able to successfully intercept SI satellites and obtained the current location of Howard and Maria Stark as requested. Would you like me to implement Protocol Oma Gift #2?”

With both Starks dead, and as Tony’s mate and rightful alpha, it would be _ hers _ in the interim.

“Not yet. Send the coordinates to my phone. I want to see my love’s face when I show him his first gift.”


	7. Steve: Baby Shower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to everyone still reading this! man I just wanna be real for a sec: this is my second favorite chapter I wrote for this story. do most writers keep favorites? I do. This one and the next are my favorites, and I hope ya'll enjoy them as much as I loved writing them :)  
thanks to betheflame for the quick beta!

They had been planning this for nearly a whole month.

Which was a pretty impressive feat, considering Clint and himself were notoriously bad at keeping secrets. When Roberta had brought it up, Steve had thought it was a great idea and everyone had eagerly pitched in with the planning. Natasha had made enough pastries to feed an entire small army for a month, Clint and Bucky had arranged a great discount rate at the local diner, and the Rhodes had been accommodating on opening their apartment to them all when they arrived early to set up the decorations.

To help keep Tony distracted throughout the day, Steve had purchased two tickets to the exclusive science emporium show that was in town for only a week and gave them to Pepper. Pepper had therefore gotten Tony out of the apartment early that morning, claiming she was having anxiety about her exam results arriving on Monday and needed a good distraction.

"I'm actually worried Pepper may need us to help drag him out if he doesn’t want to leave," Rhodey said with a chuckle. He had come home early from work and was still in his uniform when he asked how they had gotten Tony out of the place for so long without suspicion.

"Just tell him you got his favorite food at home waiting for him," Bucky chimed in. "Trust me. He will leave for a cheeseburger."

Natasha snorted; hands still tangled in streamers she had been attempting to unravel for the past half hour. "Now before we plan contingencies on how we may need to convince Tony to ditch his science-y geeking out to actually arrive at this baby shindig, which one of you picked up the cake?"

Steve looked at Clint who looked at Bucky who looked at Natasha.

"So nobody did," Natasha concluded, then tilted her head in Steve’s direction. "You had one job, Rogers. One.”

"You literally just had me run up and down the east side running errands for you-"

"If you had pulled up your app once you would’ve seen it was right in the middle of two of those errands-”

Rhodey's phone went off then in a disruptive diddy. It was the _ Top Gun _ theme song.

"Wow," Natasha commented dryly, tilting her head in Rhodey's direction with a puzzled expression. "Isn’t that movie about the Navy?"

Rhodey scowled at his phone in his hand. "Tony has this new habit of going in and changing my ringtones on my phone to certain songs he knows annoys me."

"Aha, see I’m not the only one who does that,” Clint called out from the living room he had just arrived in, carrying another box. He put it on the coffee table. “I once programmed mine to _ Baby _ by Justin Bieber on Steve’s phone. Then I called him intentionally when I knew he was studying at the library.”

“And consequently, that is the last time I ever let Clint borrow my phone with the pretense his died and he needed to make a call,” Steve added, “From then on out I programmed your calls to never actually ring.”

“That’s fair, I wouldn’t answer my calls either,” Clint said wearily. “Everyone knows they’re better off sending me a text if they got a real emergency. I never answer my phone.”

“He’s not lying,” Natasha said in an exasperated tone. “Don’t ever call Clint if you need bail. He’s not picking up.”

Bucky shook his head. “So then I get the call. Thanks guys."

"That was one time!"

Rhodey finally picked up the phone, shooing at them to quiet as he walked over towards the hallway for privacy.

A minute later, a message from Tony came through. The omega’s excitement leapt off the phone screen. Bucky snorted beside him, having gotten the same message, replying before Steve himself could.

_ Tony: mildly freaking out _

_ Bucky: are you okay? _

_ Tony: pep literally had to pinch me. Hank Pym is here. _

“Steve, go check out the back patio, would ya? Maybe the cans of soda we need are out there.” There was Natasha again, barking orders. Normally he wouldn't care, but he could tell she was stressing. He sent her a worried look and she returned it with a narrowed gaze. "Please. As much I love looking at your lovesick face as you look at your phone- yeah, I know it's Tony - I need less distractions so I can finish these."

Clint put his coffee cup to his mouth, scenting amused.

The back patio he soon discovered had a potent scent of lilac and sage before his mind registered someone already was occupying the small outdoor balcony.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize anyone was out here.”

The girl waved her hair over her shoulder, pheromones spiked with surprise. Her eyes and complexion were familiar. She shared Rhodey’s eyes and Roberta's chin and mouth. She scented curious.

“Sorry, Mama banished me out here for smoking,” she stated, a small smile peeking around the cigarette in her mouth. She put it out in the ashtray on the patio table. The wind blew in and he could smell her despondency.

“No offense to your type, but a room full of alphas arguing over who got the cake for a baby shower is both hilarious and ridiculous and too much for my sensibilities,” she teased with a wry smile. “Don’t get me wrong, I would chip in if I could but I’m not good at party planning like Jamie and Mama are.”

“You’re Jeanette,” Steve realized. He recalled Tony mentioning her. She lived in New Jersey and visited sporadically. “Nice to meet you.”

“You’re Steve, you smell just like Tony said you did,” Jeanette smiled back. “Apples. Sunshine on a bright, crisp early morning. He was very descriptive; it’s cute.”

“He told me you were a dancer. Ballet, right?” Steve returned and tried not to look obviously satisfied that her and Tony talked about him in that context. “Said you were Juilliard material.”

Jeanette let out a laugh, smelling equal parts of fond and embarrassed. She went noticeably pink in the cheeks. “My god, no he didn’t.” She made a motion with her hand, then covered her eyes. “Why am I surprised? Of course that boy did. He always the biggest supporter of everyone’s dreams.”

“Yes,” Steve agreed instantly, unable to help that he sounded probably lovesick as he answered. “He tends to bring out the best in you, makes you want to follow your dreams.”

She hummed in agreement. “He’s something, isn’t he? The strongest magnet pull out there. Did Tony tell you the time I crashed at MIT last year? He took me to the dance academy because I was too nervous to go alone. I owe Tony Stark my future career because he was the first to believe in me. My anxiety was so bad, he had to go in the cab with me and hand my hand the entire way there.”

"I don't doubt it," Steve said, remembering all the pep talks he had witnessed Tony give Eddie or Pepper before an exam. Or himself when he had started on his first application for an entry level art design position downtown at a local comic book company.

Jeanette caught his scent and smiled gently. “Can’t even stand to be away from him for a few hours, can you? Ah, you got it bad.”

Steve wasn’t going to deny that accusation ever. As much as he could never understand all the wondrous things Tony would share with him and his projects, Tony always knew how to keep him calm when it came to his own.

“I actually wish I could do more,” Steve admitted softly. “I try to, and Buck has gotten him to tell us more about how we can help. But I don’t know, there’s still a lot I can’t do. I worry about him going through...it all alone.”

“He’s not alone.” Jeanette sounded confused, then her eyes widened. “Oh you mean... okay, foot in mouth syndrome. I got it. Tony is doing great though. Mama worries too, god knows my brother is a mess. Modern medicine is a glorious thing. Tony is healthy, young and, biologically, what an omega really needs to have a full-term, healthy pregnancy is a support system. He has that.”

Steve said nothing for a moment, quietly thinking. “I know Bucky and he go to classes together. I know that helped. I just...he’s amazing, and he deserves more. I want to give him the world, but I can’t. Not at the level he’s used to. He’s...he’s not nowhere near my league.”

She smiled knowingly. “Funny, he said the same to me about you.”

“Seriously? Stevie, how hard is it-” Bucky stopped, seeing he had just interrupted them. “Oh. I take you haven’t seen Tony’s existential text on meeting some big stuffy old professor named Pym. I looked the guy up. I have no idea what he does, but Tony sounds like he’s in love. Should we be worried?”

Jeanette’s eyes flitted between them. “You both got it so bad. Man, that Tony Stark. The magnet pull he has is not on record books yet. Neodymium level.”

Bucky looked at her, catching her meaning. “Hey, I’m not a brainy scientist but tell me: do you have any idea what subatomic particles and atomic particles are?"

Jeanette whistled, shaking her head. "I know enough by wiki standards."

Bucky laughed. "That's fair. Us regular folk would know nothing without the wiki.”

"Are you seriously going to wiki knowledge it up and try to act like you know what he's saying to you?"

"No."

She smelled doubtful. "You're cute. I like you."

"Not the intention I was going for, but alright."

Jeanette and Steve both snorted.

"Alright, let's go back in there and see what we can do about this missing cake fiasco you alphas managed to get yourself in," Jeanette sighed dramatically, standing up and stretching. She was short, barely coming up to Steve’s mid-chest, which was comical with the way she was commanding them to go inside and follow her.

Amazingly, once inside, Jeanette managed to calm Natasha down, who was still trying to untangle all the streamers and party hats from the huge pile on the kitchen table.

"I think it's some superpower only omegas have," Bucky commented to Steve. "I've seen work on you with Tony. Omegas have superpower pheromones that made alphas shut up and listen."

Jeanette poked Bucky in the arm. "It's called 'oh lord, let me help this poor fool' omega pheromone."

Clint snickered into his coffee cup. Natasha came up behind him and put a cone party hat on him. "Nat, what the-"

Natasha erupted into tittering laughter. "I'm sorry, I just..." She ran off to the front room, and Clint followed her.

"How old are those two?" Rhodey asked, eyebrows lifting.

"Twenty-five going on five," Bucky answered with a grin. "Though it's a wonder they haven't burned down the shop. They're always pulling pranks on each other."

Rhodey looked mildly concerned. "Wait, they're the Clint and Natasha who run a business?"

Jeanette rolled her eyes at her brother, scenting affectionate. "Geez, where have you been?"

"Hello, Miss ‘I don't work 80-hour work week’." Rhodey’s phone went off, interrupting him. He looked down at it and his eyes widened. “Okay everyone shut up! They’re coming up the stairs. Sit in the living room and look festive or something.”

Clint put on his party hat and looked nervous.

“Clint, what the fuck?” Natasha closed her mouth, realizing Roberta had just come in the room.

Roberta gave Natasha fond look. “I don’t care, sweetie. I curse all the time. Except around Tony, he’s very particular.”

Natasha looked deeply relieved. “Thank fucking god. I hope he never wants me to babysit. That kid’s first word will be shit.”

Bucky coughed pointedly into his hand.

The door opened and Pepper walked in first, Tony behind her, still in mid-sentence and he stopped, visibly stilling as he no doubt scented the room.

“Happy Birthday!” Clint shouted, then immediately said, “Or happy pre baby birthday! I don’t know. What the hell do people say in these things?”

“For the love of-” Bucky exclaimed, a hand over his face. “How we’re even still friends right now is beyond me.”

Tony smelled noticeably shocked, then he said to Clint, “That hat looks appallingly ridiculous on you, Barton. I’ll let your language slid on the count of that.”

Clint looked smug. “I apologize, and spoiler: I bought baby a great set of noise-cancelling earphones disguised as cute earmuffs. For when you visit Nat and I at the shop and our foul-mouths.”

“I take back what I said: you are brilliant,” Bucky said lightly. “Can you buy me a pair?”

“Your head is too big to fit any of them.”

“Anyway,” Rhodey shouted over the sudden outbreak of cries. “Tones, huh, yeah. Please say something. Sorry, we didn’t sync on what to say when you arrived.”

Tony’s scent smelled a bit apprehensive before it broke into deep, deep surprise and happiness. He turned to Pepper, asking her, “You’re totally not close to failing Calculus are you.”

Pepper beamed brightly. “Nope. I aced the last exam.”

Tony made an ‘ah’ noise. “I knew it. I knew you smelled too guilty.” She laughed.

He looked around, visibly glowing, a wide and excited smile on his face. “Shit. I don’t know what to say right now. I’m speechless.” He covered his face both hands. “I would very much to crawl under a rock right now. I’m turning bright red right now aren’t I?”

“Red is your favorite color,” Bucky said, but his eyes were concerned. “Seriously, if it’s too much, we can all just leave. Or you can turn around and act like we’re not here and we’ll sneak out the fire escape. We won’t care. It’s for you.”

Tony gave him a soft smile. Then he looked at Steve as he said, “You totally knew I would fall for the Science Emporium thing didn’t you.”

Steve smiled back.

Jeannette stood up, waving her phone. “Tony, you made all these alphas yell at each other for half an hour about forgetting the damn cake. It was hilarious. I recorded it for you. Wanna see?”

**

Eventually the commotion died down and Tony took the seat between Bucky and Steve. Natasha handed him a slice of the cake (Jeanette pointing out it was literally fresh out of the oven from the local bakery down the street from them). The pile of gifts currently overtook most of the living space. Clint and Roberta were discussing recipes.

Jeanette was arguing loudly with Rhodey on putting together the stroller.

“You graduated from MIT! You can’t figure out this out, I fear for our country you’re handling billion dollar jets all day.”

“I swear we are missing a piece-”

“Please tell me you’re recording this,” Tony whispered to Steve. “I need more compromising videos of Rhodey failing at stuff.” Bucky stifled his laughter.

It was contagious, the happiness and joy coming from Tony and permeating the room. It reminded Steve that if he could make Tony this happy, then maybe things will be okay. He reached down and threaded their fingers together.

“You okay there?” Tony asked him, eyes reading his, as if he could read his mind. Sometimes, Steve thought Tony could. “I feel like you’re thinking too hard.”

“No,” Steve rasped, unable to help the burst of love from his chest. Tony was safe, beside him. Between him and Bucky, but he remembered a few weeks ago, when he woke up Tony because he was going to be late for his appointment and how the omega had jumped, flinching, scenting scared. Bad dreams, he had said.

“Yeah, I know,” Tony said, and Bucky and he exchanged a look. “Bucky and I can smell your anxiety from here. What’s up?”

“I don’t know,” Steve admitted softly. “Just, I don’t know, worried. It’s stupid. I’m ruining your day.”

“Please,” Tony waved a hand, his brown eyes warm and lovely right then. “You think loudly, is all. Wear your heart on your sleeve. I love that about you. Biggest heart, strongest feelings permeate the room fast. Never have to guess how you’re feeling. It’s wonderful. I never have to...second-guess that.” He said the last part quietly, and Steve realized what Tony was telling him then.

Bucky reached over and patted his shoulder.

“Steve, calm down before Tony throws cake in your face.”

Steve laughed; throat suddenly tight with an emotion he couldn't place. “I would love that, actually.”

“Okay I’m confused, buddy.”

Tony looked flustered. “Bucky, I think Steve is having a nervous breakdown.”

“He does that when he’s worried and sick in love.”

Steve let out a laugh at that. “Just glad we managed to pull this off, is all. Honestly, were you really surprised?”

Tony had a thoughtful look on his face.. “I knew something was going on. Rhodey looked nervous last night, but I figured that was just him fretting over the military fodder. This also explains why Clint would greet me and immediately turn around when I went into the shop.”

“I suggested that,” Bucky admitted. “He said he was tempted to tell you, so I told him to just say hi and go back to work and not talk your ear off in case he accidentally babbled about I don’t know-- what were you two talking about the other day?

“Arrow aerodynamics,” Tony supplied. “He wants to take up archery.” 

“So, you got one last gift to open,” Natasha announced to Tony. “It’s quite heavy, so it’s probably best if you let us help you.”

“Oh?”

Steve handed her a pair of scissors to help open the large box on the coffee table Clint had put there earlier. On the very top of it, was an envelope with Tony’s name messily sprawled on the top. There was no return label. He handed it to Tony and watched the omega open it, expression thoughtful, eyes riveted on the letter as he read.

“It’s from Eddie,” Tony explained when he looked up. His brow crinkled. 

“Your reporter-in-training omega friend, right?” Natasha asked.

“Yeah, he’s doing an internship in San Fran right now for a month,” Tony said and watched the alpha tear through the plethora of packing peanuts that soon scattered around the room from the box.

Natasha scented confused once she dug enough out, peering in. “So, uh, this looks like a pile of scraps in here…”

Rhodey leaned over, hand digging in and pulling out what looked like a metallic cylinder. “Tones, this is a very expensive conductor. It’s platinum coated. What kind of internship was Brock on?”

Tony looked back down at the letter in his hand. “Uh, apparently at some event in Silicon Valley and he met an alpha there.”

Bucky nearly spewed out his drink. “A Valley dog?”

All the alphas gave each other a knowing look.

Jeanette scoffed. “So, your reporter pal Brock met a super rich, super egotistical alpha?”

“Tech mongers are the worst,” Tony sighed. He scented conflicted. 

“Silicon Valley business types are the worst,” Jeanette hummed. “This Brock fellow seemed to have taken with one of them very well. Tony look - this is the thingy majiggy you needed the other day, right?”

“Jeanette!” Rhodey looked at his sister with look. “You’re not helping.”

“What? Good for him! Drain the tech monger’s bank account, not like they won’t notice a few million missing,” Jeanette peeved. “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Give Brock our bank account info and tell him to spread the wealth. They’re not doing it.”

Natasha laughed, looking at her with a smirk. “I knew I liked you for a reason.”

Rhodey broke in, waving the part in her direction. “No, no, you don’t get to like my sister, ever.”

“Calm down, platypus, it was a compliment, not a come on,” Tony soothed, putting an arm on Rhodey’s forearm. “Give me that before you accidentally electrocute someone.”

“Electrocute? You’re pregnant, I’m not giving you this-”

“It’s his gift, hand it to him,” Roberta sighed, sending her son a look. “Jeanette, stop playing instigator. I swear, you two were easier when you were younger.”

“Man, we need to get together more often,” Clint said to Steve, smiling behind his cup. Steve was pretty sure his cup had run empty ages ago. "Who knew a baby shower could be so entertaining?"

Tony stood up and started rifling through the contents, and he smelled surprised. Excited. Whether Tony realized it or not, when he got in his thinking mode, he made the cutest expressions, with heavy sighs here and there. Pepper handed him a notepad as she was closest to him.

“You’re a doll.”

“Nah, I just know you well.”

Bucky poked Steve in the side after a few minutes, sending him a pointed look. “You gonna give Tony the gift you’ve been working on for the past two months? Or continue to stare at him and Pepper inventorying?”

Steve shrugged. “Dunno. He looks pretty happy with that box over there, I don’t want to interrupt.”

Pursing his lips, Bucky gave him a flat look. “He’s not gonna care about a stupid box once he sees the damn painting you made. Give it to him now. Or I’ll do it. Though you should be the one. You’ve nearly destroyed our floors with the paint splattering everywhere.”

“I thought you supported me and my artistic endeavors.”

"I’ve given up we’ll ever get the security deposit back,” Bucky commented with a dry tone. “Now’s your chance. Tony’s distracted. Go upstairs, get the damn masterpiece and put everyone’s gifts to shame.”

He stood up and crept up the stairs to the bedrooms, going to the closet there where he had stored it when he first arrived. 

He hadn’t felt this nervous about displaying his art to anyone since the freshman course he took. The art teacher had torn him to shreds on his technique.

Bucky said she was an idiot and Steve had dropped the course. In the end, it was what made him go to digital art instead, though occasionally, he still painted. 

Tony meets him halfway down the stairs. Imperfect timing. Tony exclaimed he desperately needed to pee, and Steve was blocking the way, hands too full with the canvas.

“Steve, what-?” Tony gestured to the canvas between them. “What are you holding? Why is it covered?”

“Well, huh, let me go back up and you can go.”

Tony, sending him a look, waited until Steve was back at the top of the stairs before he took off the cover. 

“I thought you had to pee-?”

“Oh god, seriously?”

Steve shut his mouth, watching Tony’s reaction carefully. 

“You made me this?”

“Technically, it’s for the baby,” Steve clarified, nervous.

Tony immediately scented fond. _ Love love love_. “You sap. You gave the baby a map of the universe. My god, the colors.”

“I hope you like it,” Steve fiddled with the top, pointing to a corner. “I kind of made a mistake there but I think overall-”

“You call that a mistake? I don’t see anything but gorgeous art,” Tony marveled, squinting. Then he turned his wide-eyed brown gaze to Steve. “You’re pulling my leg. You’re seriously telling me you made a mistake?”

“You know they always say the artist is the harshest critic. You see talent, I see the mistakes. Just like you do with your own projects.” Tony put his hands on his hips, giving Steve a look that clearly said he thought Steve was feeding him bullshit. 

“Okay, but the difference is, if I make a mistake, my project doesn’t work. If you make a mistake, it’s still art,” Tony sounded exasperated. “Can’t believe you don’t think this is good.”

And with that, Tony pressed forward and kissed him.

Steve returned it, wrapping his arms around him, deepening it.

“First time anyone has ever kissed me after showing my art.” Steve told him once they pulled apart. He tucked a stray hair behind Tony’s ear, giddy and happiness taking over his emotions then.

Tony gave him with a bright smile that took over his whole face. “I hope you don’t plan that for every customer who comes sees your art exhibition, mister.”

“Nah, just those I am head over heels over. Luckily it’s a very small, invite-only list.”

“Yeah better just be two names that end with y.”

“Actually yeah, I never realized-”

Tony rolled his eyes. “You’re too adorable and I am now laughing at you.”

Steve chuckled, pulling him closer.

** 

“Steve? Bucky?"

Tony's voice sounded trepid.

Steve cracked open an eye, mind still in the relaxing pull of deep sleep. The soft shimmering smell of content omega pheromones still was present but there was secondary, underlying scent.

Apprehension.

"Mm?" Bucky mumbled, still asleep.

"I was thinking about names.”

"Yeah?" Steve smiled, eyes closing again. "Wha’ ya come up with?" There were laundry lists of lists littered back at their Brooklyn apartment with the omega’s ideas for names. Lately Tony was quite taken with Peter for some reason. He suspected it was Natasha’s influence as she finally told the omega her backstory family history. Peter was a great-uncle of Nat’s. Someone who helped her and she had great admiration for. 

"Well I was thinking about last names."

Steve’s brow furrowed.

“Pick the name you want. Whatever pack you want.” 

Traditionally, it would be the alpha’s. But well, that obviously wasn’t going to happen. Steve thought Rhodes was the obvious choice. He was under no delusions. Tony loved them, they all loved him, but the Rhodes’ were Tony’s first, real family. 

“Maybe we can hyphenate? Barnes-Rogers? Rogers-Barnes? RB or BR? Which sounds catchier for initials? PRB PBR. To be honest, Peanut butter comes to mind when I put PB together. Wow I’m word vomiting right now.”

It took a moment before Steve's brain jumped to comprehension.

"Wha’-?”

Bucky finally roused. “You want peanut butter?”

Tony scented uneasy. 

Steve’s eyes popped open and Tony met his worried stare. Tony reached up and pushed the fringe away from Steve's forehead. “Yeah. You heard me, apple of my eye. After today, I realized, well, looked at the calendar, my heat is due soon. The big one. Pregnancy heat.

“Funny how our ancestors did that - hunt and leave their omega mates back home, but always returning in time to share that last heat before the baby. Biologically, it helped guarantee a full vital pregnancy. But, uh, I guess it works nowadays as a shotgun mating," Tony finished wryly, flustered and scented deeply nervous. "It's a lot to ask. But-"

"Tony," Steve started and felt his eyes turn wet.

Bucky sounded surprised yet his tone was leveled. "You sure? That's a big choice you can't undo. If you have regrets later..." Bucky trailed off, clearly worried Tony would feel this way.

Steve pushed himself up on his forearm, flickering his eyes to Bucky. It would be the first time Steve ever witnessed Bucky was about to faint. Usually it would be him.

"Yes I know," Tony agreed, and his tone was resolute. He had a faraway look in his eyes. "But it's still my choice. If I say stop, I know you'll both respect that. I know you both would never take my choice away."

"Always," Bucky agreed, and he bit his lip. "Never want you to think otherwise, darling."

"When's your heat?" Steve swallowed nervously.

Tony looked contemplative. "Hard to say. But at least within this month. I had some signs it's on the way."

Bucky shifted, looking uncomfortable and Steve shot him a careful, scrutinizing look.

Tony added tentatively, “That is if you’re willing to put up with me and my messes.”

“You and your what?” Steve was stunned, confused by how sure Tony sounded when he said that. “Who said that?”

“Yeah, we’re kicking their ass,” Bucky groused. 

Tony looked down, fidgeting with his hands. “I was just thinking how much...everything I’ve been through the past months. Bringing Rhodey into this, meeting you two. Meeting Clint and Nat and Pep and Eddie. I don’t know, something Roberta said to me. That everyone sees something great in me. That I’m special, but lately, I got this sinking feeling, that maybe I’m...maybe I’m not this person Roberta seems to think I am. I’m a fraud, maybe I’m just gonna make things worse for everyone,” he trailed off, eyes wet and his scent distraught. “I’m scared.”

“You’re human,” Steve pressed. He gently swiped under Tony’s eyes. “God, if you weren’t scared, I would be more concerned. Tony, you literally just brought a new entire family in there together. For you. That’s amazing. _ You _ did that.”

Tony sniffled, letting out a watery laugh. “Yeah, I guess I did.”

“Guess? You did,” Bucky shot back, and he reached for Tony’s hand. “And maybe I’m selfish, but we’re not giving you up. If you’ll have us. I’m just worried. I’ve never...heat sex is not something I’ve done. Never been with an omega as you know. Wouldn’t want to accidentally hurt you,” Bucky murmured quietly, and Steve hummed in understanding.

“That’s not possible,” Steve told him, “not when you love and...mate. I mean, I don’t know about the mate part obviously, but Buck, you can’t hurt Tony. I know you. You sooner hurt yourself before you ever hurt Tony."

Tony put his hand on Bucky’s cheek. “Yeah, you’re too sweet and protective to become some mindless rutting alpha dog. You’re still gonna be my gentle Buckaroo, my Bucky bear.”

“God, you and your nicknames,” Bucky huffed, scenting warm and affectionate. He looked at Steve next, “I trust you.”

Steve smiled at him gently, understanding Bucky’s concerns and knowing they were unfounded.

“Let’s go to bed,” Tony pouted next and now Steve nearly fell off the couch as his brain went there. 

Bucky chuckled to his right. “I think he just meant bed as in sleep.”

“Yeah, no offense, but you two take up this entire sofa together and my back hurts.”

"Aye aye," Steve managed to stand up without falling, and going up the stairs to the bedroom was a huge obstacle given they were all half asleep and infectiously happy with the knowledge of their future.

"Tomorrow let's go the movies," Tony whispered once they settled excitement permeating both his tone and his scent. Tony in the middle as always. Tony faced Bucky. “See that one movie of the robots beating each other up."

"I thought you said you hated the preview because the robots were badly made."

"They get destroyed anyway so it doesn't matter how crap the design is."

“I love you,” Steve murmured, and he meant it. Tony made a noise. 

“What?”

“You sounded really sad as you said that? Do you love me sadly or something?”

Steve sighed. “Well, the kind of love where you think of that person, and they make you smile. And you just want their happiness above your own, even if it’s not with you, kind of love.” Tony shifted, facing him, looking worried. Steve let out a shuddery breath. “Watching the two people you love most in this world love each other, and you love them so much, you think, wow, they’re beautiful and perfect together.”

“Oh Steve-”

Steve swallowed thickly. “I mean, not that I ever think you or Bucky would run away together or anything. I know you would give me the heads up but yeah. I wouldn’t be upset. I think, well, I just be really happy - sad of course- but happy-”

“You’re the most idiotic punk,” Bucky drawled, “you hit your head? Was the punch spiked? Where’s this coming from?”

“I was just thinking, I don’t know, if you two mated each other it would be pretty great." 

“Seriously, where is this coming from? We must not have made it clearer,” Bucky added, and he looked heartbroken. “You’re a big part of what makes us happy. You. We love you."

Tony wrapped his limbs around him, head between his shoulder and neck. “Oh, you’re trying to wheedle your way out of this? Face it, you’re stuck with us two, well, soon to be three.”

“Am I?”

“Oh, we’re awful,” Tony made a pained noise. “That’s why you were sad earlier? Something that makes you think all this?”

“I just think it would be easier if you and Bucky were together."

“Why?” Tony scented angry and hurt.

“I don’t know. Bucky's a catch, you're a catch. I think PB is catchy,” Steve said, his own insecurities creeping up on him, “I think you’re both amazing and it feels too good to be true.”

Tony curled around him tighter. “Funny, I think the same of you." He scooted up, pulling at his shoulders. It took Steve a moment to catch on what Tony was trying to do, wriggling and scooting over. 

“You can just ask me to move, Tony, honey.”

“Nah, having an excuse to rub against you as I try to move is more fun.”

“Tony - you’re gonna hurt--”

“Oof, wow, okay, that escalated fast.”

“Bucky!”

Eventually Steve and Tony switched places, in between playful giggles and wandering hands. Bucky huffed in his ear, throwing his arm around his chest and whispered, “It’s okay punk, we all need to be the little spoon from time to time, I understand. Next time I get the middle, Tony.”

“Jerk,” Steve threw back. 

Tony made a sleepy noise. “You two are so cute, bickering like an old married couple over there. Steve, we love you, you big idiot. Next time you feel this way, you tell us.”

“Okay,” Steve flitted back, "and you promise back if you ever feel like you're a burden, or a mess. Because you're absolutely not."

"And I promise I'll keep you both from going stupid," Bucky pitched in. "My lovesick idiots."

Tony poked Steve in the nose. “We can't do this right if one of us doesn't want this. You know that's how this is going to be work, right? All three of us, or none of us." 

"All three," Steve echoed, and the tightness in his chest loosened. Bucky breathed into his neck, scenting him. 

**

It was sunny when Steve woke up, and this time he immediately noticed the lack of that sugary scent permeating the room. 

There was a note on the bedside table, written in Tony’s handwriting:

_ You two looked so cute I couldn’t bear to wake ya’ll lazybones up. :’) _

_ Had to run a quick errand, be back before noon. Movie’s at 3. :-* _

The digital clock said it was 2 pm. Steve picked up his phone next, unlocking it.

He shook Bucky beside him. “Buck, wake up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> got riddled with the flu! so pls bear with me pls on the next update <3


End file.
